It never got any better than this (Picture: Nintendo)

The golden age of the Wii has never been bettered in terms of video game console sales but does that really mean they’re in decline?

The industry upheaval of the last few months has been puzzling on a number of levels, not least why it came to a head so quickly and what’s to blame – was it the pandemic, the increasing cost of making big budget games, or concern about the lack of growth in the console market?

All of the above, and more, seems to be the answer but the one element that’s hardest to understand is why publishers are reacting to these issues as if they’ve only just become obvious, when, for example, the lack of growth in the console market dates back to the PlayStation 2 era.

Disappointment at Christmas 2023 sales results for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S is probably the primary reason, but as the industry scrambles for answers (and a proper definition of the problem) a high-profile analyst has revealed that the peak for console sales was more than 16 years ago.

As you can see from the graph below, which follows the usual generational cycle of the industry, it’s not as if sales are plummeting but it seems clear the current generation has peaked already, and never came close to topping the seventh generation of consoles. (The chart is not adjusted for inflation, which would only increase the totals from earlier years.)

That was an unusual generation for a number of reasons though, with the Wii appealing to a very different demographic than normal, even for Nintendo consoles, which together with the DS created a new market of casual gamers that was lost as soon as smartphones took over.

What’s arguably most unique about 2008 is that Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft were all doing very well, with their own unique offerings, when usually in a generation one or more of the console manufacturers lags far behind the others.

Having all three as near equals has never really happened again, but either way it’s not hard to see from this graph why companies have had trouble making the usual nonsense promises of infinite growth to their investors.

More Trending Why I packed up my PS5 and put it in the attic - Reader’s Feature Xbox commits to backwards compatibility and biggest leap ever for next gen console Nintendo Switch OLED reduced to lowest price ever on Amazon PS5 Pro 'enhanced mode' to offer constant 60fps report claims Read More Stories

The information was shared by NPD analyst Mat Piscatella, who suggested that the data showed a shift towards older consumers and that younger gamers care little for consoles – with the youngest having no interest in them at all.

In his role at NPD, Piscatella gets to see a lot of data that is never made public, so he likely has reason to say that, but the comments on Twitter immediately got so vitriolic that he deleted his original tweet. Which feels very much like trying to shoot the messenger.




US Video Game hardware spending by year. Source: Circana Retail Tracking Service Dedicated video game hardware (includes Consoles and Portables, for example, but excludes multiuse devices such as PC, Mobile, Quest, etc.). Not adjusted for inflation. pic.twitter.com/5RtJdWVDuR — Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) April 6, 2024




Email  [email protected] , leave a comment below,  follow us on Twitter , and  sign-up to our newsletter .



MORE : Xbox commits to backwards compatibility and biggest leap ever for next gen console





MORE : PS5 will see ‘smaller first party games’ this year including Astro Bot claims insider





MORE : Nintendo files patent for Switch dock upgrade – but is it for the Switch 2?



Follow Metro Gaming on  Twitter  and email us at  [email protected]

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our  Submit Stuff page here .

For more stories like this,  check our Gaming page .
Sign up to all the exclusive gaming content, latest releases before they're seen on the site. Sign up Privacy Policy » This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.